!96491090 Mornin', everyone. I'm hoping that GVgirl, Ruth, Skip 1515, or anyone else in Atlantic City this weekend gives us a summary of the big exo now underway, either via email to me or in the Comments. If anyone at that event happens to read this and wants to share his/her thoughts, I'd be happy to publish them as or within a stand-alone post early next week. It doesn't have to be elaborate, either, but some terrific work (Master Ace?) gets short shrift here when it's just buried in the Comments.
There's always Twitter - GVgirl has emerged as the Tweet Queen among tennis journalists; put all her tweets together and you've got War and Peace, with a swoosh logo.
It's not a bad day to be, among others, Carla Suarez Navarro, who's through to the final at Marbella. I don't know that the Spanish are any more nationalistic than other nations, but there sure are a lot of crimson-and-yellow flags aflutter whenever a representative of that nation is in action, anywhere around the world. I assume it's especially gratifying for a Spanish player to be doing well at home, especially a female player. Spanish men are apt to turn up in a final, in any level of tournament, anywhere in the world. It doesn't even raise an eyebrow.
But the women have a long way to go before they're compared even to Italy, never mind a Russia, the US, France, or a Czech republic (historically). Oddly enough, Navarro will be playing an Italian, either Flavia Penetta or Sara Errani, for the Marbella title. I have a funny feeling it's going to be a high-quality match, no matter who Navarro plays.
When it comes to the wide performance gap between a nation's male and female players, Spain is at the head of the parade. Which makes me wish I knew more about the role of the state in the Spanish development system, and whether or not the nation's female tennis athletes receive comparable support and opportunities. Are there any Spanish readers out there who care to comment on this?
Enjoy the tennis, we'll start talking about Monfils, del Potro, and Soderling-less Monte Carlo on Monday.
-- Pete